Well, in the last few days it has been revealed that the robbers were caught on CCTV 2 days before the robbery, outside the shop 'checking things out'.
So what we had here is pre-planning. This is a common part of all theft (including data), whilst their is opportunist crime it is the exception rather than the norm.
Now we are not post-judging this particular situation but there may have been a window for prevention. One possibility may have been that when they pulled up outside the shop two days before the security guard had approached them and asked something like "can I help you?". By the simple act of engaging during the information gathering or 'hostile reconnaissance' stage it may have been enough to deter the attack. Their reaction to the question may have also raised the security guards suspicion and caused him to brief the other staff to be on the look-out for these men.
How does this relate to InfoSec.... Create a positive culture of security understanding and ownership, check your logs proactively, set up rules and identify behaviour 'out of the norm'. Be proactive and follow up anything out-of-place in a timely manner. Engage your end-users, speak to them and encourage a culture of 'eyes and ears'. Help them understand the threats in 'plain English'.
Prevention is always better than reaction.
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